Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Muar and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Muar: $951 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Muar
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Muar Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Muar

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$951

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Muar and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Muar and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $951 in Muar versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Muar $951
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,505 in Muar versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Muar $1,505
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,059 in Muar versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Muar $2,059
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Muar costs roughly 57% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Muar is 30% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.82 MYR 19.72

$16.65 €14.93

-71.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.01 MYR 119

$61.7 €55.4

-53.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.88 MYR 15.86

$11.36 €10.19

-65.85%

Cappuccino

$3.05 MYR 12.46

$2.97 €2.66

2.69%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 MYR 3.12

$2.29 €2.05

-66.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 MYR 1.88

$1.74 €1.56

-73.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.44 MYR 18.14

$3.40 €3.05

30.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 MYR 25.63

$3.31 €2.97

89.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 MYR 8.72

$1.16 €1.04

83.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.37

$1.91 €1.71

-43.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 MYR 7.58

$1.51 €1.36

22.52%

Eggs

$2.44 MYR 9.96

$4.02 €3.61

-39.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.25 MYR 58.3

$12.94 €11.61

10.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 MYR 18.17

$7.77 €6.97

-42.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.95 MYR 40.68

$17.76 €15.93

-43.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 MYR 13.75

$2.30 €2.07

46.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 MYR 7.55

$1.73 €1.55

6.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 MYR 9.19

$1.86 €1.67

20.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 MYR 6.19

$2.59 €2.32

-41.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 MYR 4.97

$1.82 €1.63

-32.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MYR 5.60

$1.97 €1.77

-30.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 MYR 4.74

$1.47 €1.32

-21.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 MYR 2.91

$0.72 €0.65

-1.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MYR 18.19

$6.58 €5.91

-32.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.48 MYR 79.7

$5.61 €5.03

247.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.48 MYR 14.24

$1.36 €1.22

155.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 MYR 20.42

$2.14 €1.92

133.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MYR 2.63

$2.33 €2.09

-72.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.62 MYR 43.43

$44.68 €40.08

-76.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$3.85 €3.45

-69.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 MYR 5.10

$1.07 €0.96

16.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 MYR 19.93

$16.46 €14.77

-70.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 MYR 3.32

$2.20 €1.97

-63.18%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$44.4K MYR 181.6K

$34.2K €30.7K

29.95%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$34.9K MYR 142.5K

$38.7K €34.7K

-9.97%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$62.0 MYR 254

$161 €145

-61.52%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$8.88 MYR 36.32

$18.41 €16.51

-51.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 MYR 107

$32.74 €29.37

-19.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.02 MYR 151

$44.55 €39.96

-16.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.79 MYR 23.66

$19.10 €17.13

-69.69%

Cinema Ticket

$4.85 MYR 19.83

$9.60 €8.61

-49.48%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$240 MYR 981

$668 €599

-64.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K MYR 54.5K

$17.6K €15.8K

-24.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MYR 295

$102 €91.5

-29.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.83 MYR 171

$44.46 €39.89

-5.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.3 MYR 345

$98.5 €88.4

-14.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 MYR 394

$124 €111

-22.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 MYR 1,818

$1,608 €1,443

-72.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 MYR 1,033

$1,190 €1,067

-78.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$617 MYR 2,521

$2,812 €2,523

-78.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$518 MYR 2,117

$2,013 €1,806

-74.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,001 MYR 8,180

$7,839 €7,032

-74.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,229 MYR 5,023

$4,576 €4,104

-73.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$603 MYR 2,465

$1,575 €1,413

-61.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.17

3.85

8.31%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Muar: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Muar

$274 28.9%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 0.7% $2.1

Accommodation & Living

Muar

$253 26.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 371% $937

Clothing & Footwear

Muar

$133 14%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 25.1% $33

Eating Out

Muar

$126 13.3%

Lisbon

$243 11% 91.9% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Muar

$97 10.2%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 119% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Muar

$47 4.9%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 36.5% $17

Getting Around

Muar

$21 2.2%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 207% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $445 in Muar and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays about 2.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $29 in Muar vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $274 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Muar

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

21:39 9:39 PM

13:39 1:39 PM

8 h behind Muar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

314,776

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.57 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Muar Lisbon 11,720 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Muar
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Muar vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Muar and Lisbon differ by about 133% in total monthly costs ($951 vs $2,210 including rent). Muar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 62% lower in Muar. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $445 in Muar versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Muar runs roughly 76% less than in Lisbon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $951 per month in Muar versus $2,210 in Lisbon – a 133% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $951 in Muar versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Muar but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Muar the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Muar and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Muar wins on affordability, Lisbon on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.